Spring Is (Almost) Here at West Herts Speakers

From L to R: Frances Pardell and Tom Milliken

There was a distinctly positive theme to last night's meeting, as Jean Doidge paved the way as Table Topics Master with all subjects relating to Spring. The four impromptu speakers all had a lively spring in their step as they explored the themes. Tom Milliken won Best Table Topic Speaker of the night against some very tough competition.

 It’s a very exciting time for the Club as we continue to attract lots of new members and guests. Audree Fletcher was our latest ‘newby’ to deliver her Icebreaker speech, entitled The Crossroads. Audree delivered a very accomplished speech – without notes - and entertained us with her search for the right career and managing new motherhood.
Club President Gwendoline Alderton came one step further to completing her Advanced Communicator Bronze by giving her 4th speech from the Persuasive Speaking manual. She had teased everyone before the meeting, inviting them to meet ‘Arthur’ and then proceeded to persuade the audience to view the other side of a very controversial subject. Only one more speech to go!

With only two speeches during the evening, it was down to the evaluators to make their mark on a voting audience. Frances Pardell, who also mentored Audree as part of the Club’s mentoring scheme for new members run by Liz Burnett, won Best Evaluator of the night, although it was a close call
We also welcomed new member Zulq Khan, who took on his first role as ‘Ah’ counter, and Paul Clayden signed up on the night, so a big welcome from all of us to Paul. We had three new guests, including Matt Adams, the editor of the Herts Advertiser. It was thanks to Matt that we were recently in the paper following our charity night.

The next meeting on February 8th is an unmissable Table Topics Extravaganza. It’ll be a night of fun, entertainment and challenges. Don’t miss it!

Let's make 2012 another year to remember!

The year has got off to a great start at West Herts Speakers at our first meeting with visitors so impressed with what they saw they signed up on the spot.  They are taking 2012 by the scruff of it's neck and making it the year when they learn to speak with confidence and aplomb and we're all here to help support them in this effort.

The star of the evening was one of our newer members, RYAN PEARSON, who gave us his Ice-Breaker speech which was a thoroughly engaging and personal story and this earned him the award for BEST SPEAKER OF THE EVENING - impressive stuff!   A huge congratulations goes out to Ryan as this was his first speech at West Herts Speakers and we all look forward to seeing him grow and develop along his supportive Toastmasters’  journey to become even more accomplished. Who will win this prestigious award next time - it could be you!

Ryan Pearson - Best Speaker

And just when we didn't think we could start the year any we were featured in The Herts Advertiser for the charity night we had raising money for Grove House.  A special thanks to Frances Pardell who facilitated the efforts to get this very successful even publicised.

Doreen Beattie (Grove House Ambassador), Gwendoline Alderton (West Herts Speakers President)

So as you can see - we're off to a flying start and it's no point slowing down now so get it into your diary to attend the next meeting on Wed 25th January, 7:15 pm, 99 Waverley Road, St Albans.  If you have friends and family who have yet to discover how Toastmasters can help them in their professional and personal lives bring them along as guests  – WE’D LOVE TO SEE YOU AND THEM.”

Girl Power!

This was the last Toastmasters meeting of 2011 at West Herts Speakers and it didn't disappoint with some high quality speeches and a very innovative table topics session.

Anthony took us on a musical journey exploring the lyrics of many classic songs and asking table topics participants to talk about the what the meanings of specific lines meant to them such as "Blame it on the boogie" and "Will you still need me when I'm 64" amongst others.  It was a very different approach than we've seen and  thoroughly enjoyable.

Speeches on the night were given by Sanjit Joseph (doing his ice-breaker about his Toastmasters journey), Ronit Gerber who gave us an inspiring speech about improving our self-image based her own personal experiences as a child and Gwendoline Alderton gave us all some much welcomed advice about de-cluttering (while she cluttered the meeting room with her props).  So we treated to a good variety of speeches with equally excellent speech evaluations by Chet Thaker, Meredith Bennet and Rivka David as well as Table Topics Evaluation being given by Stuart Beattie.

From L to R - Sheila, Ronit, Meredith

Following hot on the heels of Little Mix winning the X Factor final it was also Girl Power at West Herts Speakers with the winners of Best Speech, Best Table Topics Speaker and Best Evaluator going to Ronit Gerber, Sheila Richardson, and Meredith Bennet respectively. Congratulations ladies - very well deserved!

See you all next year!

Charity Night Begins at Grove House

West Herts Speakers Club first charity night was a huge success, with five Table Topics on the subject of giving,  or not,  to charity, and a well-researched and inspiring speech about Grove House Hospice and Iain Rennie Hospice Care.

We continue to welcome new members, with Audree Fletcher signing up. Audree had visited the club before as a guest, and after she filled in her application form she jokingly said she’d decide whether or not to join if the evening was good enough. Thankfully, the evening got her seal of approval and she was welcomed into the Club.  

We also celebrated  a Best Speaker of the Night winner with recent new member Shola Ayeni, whose hilarious Icebreaker about her Nigerian culture had us all in stitches.

Meanwhile, fellow newcomer Jenny Bullen made her ‘stage debut’ with an accomplished impromptu Table Topic. We look forward to Jenny’s Icebreaker very soon.

Thanks to the generosity of the members we raised a fantastic £155.10 for Grove House Hospice and Iain Rennie Hospice Care. We were joined by Doreen Beattie, an ambassador and volunteer from the charity, who said “It was a real pleasure to meet the West Herts Speakers Club members and I very much enjoyed their empathetic and inspiring talk on Grove House. It was good to be able to talk to so many people in the interval and to tell them more about the work of Grove House. We extend our thanks to all the members for their generosity and hospitality, and for helping to ‘fly the flag’ for Grove House.”

Best Evaluator of the night was Colin Donald and Best Table Topics Speaker was Tom Milliken.

Come and join us at our last meeting of the year on December 14th and help us to make it a very Festive occasion.

CHARITY EXTRAVAGANZA to support Grove House - Wed 23rd Nov

At our next meeting, Wednesday 23rd Nov, we'll be showcasing our CHARITY EXTRAVAGANZA to support Grove House so please bring plenty of change, or some of that folding stuff if you prefer!   If you're low on dosh then just pop along with lots of pennies in your pocket... every penny counts.

If you're not aware of the work that Grove House undertakes then here is a story from one of our members:

One day I walked up to the reception of Grove House and burst out crying... of course I was seen pretty immediately!   Nobody wants a blubbering wreck on their front door step!!!

I was given FREE weekly sessions with Margaret, a very compassionate grief counsellor, to help me understand the trauma of my father's strug! gle with Cancer and his subsequent death only a week after my baby son was born.

During these sessions, my mother was then diagnosed with non-operable Cancer and our focus shifted to what was happening in the present rather than the past.   Grove House helped me deal with the pain and emotions of such a rotting disease that stole my parents from me.

If you can be with us on 23rd November to show your support for this very worthwhile charity then we welcome you along so POP THE DATE IN YOUR DIARY TODAY - 23rd November (7:15 pm for prompt 7:30 start), 99 Waverley Road, The Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust, Saint Albans.

AND... if you're lucky enought to have a friend then BRING THEM ALONG TO SHARE THE FUN

A veritable EXTRAVAGANZA!

Last week's Table Topics Extravaganza was a resounding success and did not disappoint.  We had 8 - yes 8 table topics speakers who participated in the Wedding Speech theme and everyone did a splendid job which was a lot of fun and enjoyed by all.

Due to refurbishment work going on  we were not in our usual meeting room and were instead kindly given the option to use an alternative, albeit smaller, meeting room.  Colin Donald our superstar Sergeant-at-arms is not one to be put off by such challenges and firmly declared to the officers that afternoon that THE SHOW MUST GO ON and he ensured the meeting went ahead with the usual professionalism we're so used to a West Herts Speakers.  Thank You Colin!

We had 2 speeches on the evening given by Elizabeth Hendry and Rivka David.  Elizabeth delivered one of the speeches from The Successful Club Series manuals titled Meeting Roles and Responsibilities and Rivka gave a speech from the Competent Communicator manual.  As there were only 2 speeches there was no vote for Best Speech or Best Evaluator however we did vote for Best Table Topics Speaker from the many worthy challengers.  In the end the winner was Anthony Nixon who was also our formidable Toastmaster of the Evening - very well done Anthony!

WEDDING SPEECHES Table Topics Extravaganza - Wed 9th November

On Wednesday 9th November, at West Herts Speakers (99 Waverley Road, Saint Albans), we're having a night of surprise and intrigue... a special event to take our speaking to another level... an event to stetch our minds and broaden our skills!

It's our TABLE TOPICS EXTRAVAGANZA evening and you're more than welcome to pop along and bring a guest.

Our previous topics extravaganza was a riot of fun with a humorous theme.   Next week (09Nov 7:15pm) our theme is EVENT SPEAKING with a particular emphasis on WEDDING SPEECHES... now that sounds like a night not to be missed! 

Our good friend Stuart Beattie is taking the role of topics master and if you haven't seen him in action then pop along and see a professional in action... he can play the floor and weave some magic to excite and entrance you.

Why not give yourself a buzz and get out of the doldrums... put the date in your diary today because we'd love to see you next Wednesday.

We hope you can make our special event and please remember to pass this invitation onto those you know who are speaking at events this Christmas or are part of the Weddding party (Groom, Best Man, Father of the Bride, Father-in-Law).

SEE A COMPETITION WINNER

The Division G contest winner, Gayna Cooper,  will be visiting Ware Speakers to practice her contest winning speech that she will be performing at the District (UK & Ireland) finals in November.  This means we will all get the chance to enjoy it and give Gayna encouragement and this could be the only opportunity to catch her in Area 20.  Gayna is an accomplished speaker from whom you can enjoy listening to and learning from so please take the opportunity to visit Ware Speakers on 1st November and enjoy this speech along with the other speeches and table topics on the night.





For address details please go to www.warespeakers.org or ask Bernice, James, Ian or Kevin from Ware Speakers.

Visitors and New Members Spice Up The Meeting

We clocked up another great night at West Herts Speakers Club last Wednesday, with five visitors, inducting three new members, four regular members taking on roles and two of them giving excellent impromptu speeches.

On the subject of things that spice up your life, Table Topics produced some excellent impromptu speakers who covered subjects as diverse as pumpkins and new babies.

Glen, one of our visitors on his second visit to the Club  said “I was energised by taking on a table topic. If I hadn’t been asked to speak then I would have had less of an experience and might not have been interested in coming again.  I am now planning on another visit depending on my work commitments.”

Audree, another second timer who lives in Watford said “I am intending to visit you again. The journey is worth the effort!”

We welcomed Jenny Bullen, Shola Ayeni and Ryan Pearson as new members. Jenny has joined to gain confidence in her public speaking; Shola wants to get more confidence and improve her leadership skills while Ryan wants to improve his impromptu speaking. All three took on roles for the evening for the first time.

The four experienced members included Club President Gwendoline Anderton who gave an impromptu speech about her school report and Club Treasurer Stuart Beattie who received both Table Topics and Best Evaluator Awards. Sanjit Joseph also gave an impromptu speech on obesity but as there were only two speeches no awards were given.

Lots of opportunities for new members to get started on their Competent Communicator journey – and plenty of space for experienced members to advance their communication and leadership skills.

All in all, another exhilarating meeting. Join us at the next one on Wednesday November 9^th, where we will hold a special Table Topics Extravaganza on Weddings and Best Man Speeches!

Not 1, not 2 but 3 Best Table Topic Speakers



Stuart, Corrinne, Steve



It was a night full of surprises that's for sure. The Table Topics session was run by Chet Thaker and had a theme of School Days.  5 lucky participants got the opportunity relive their youth and we were treated to tales of inspiration, school choices made based on uniform colour and a playground punch! West Herts Speakers members are an interesting bunch to say the least.

When it came to announce the winner of Best Table Topics Speaker our President, Gwendoline Alderston, was lost for words. We had 3 table topics winners and they were Corrinne Frydman, Stuart Beattie and Steve Preece. Possibly a first at West Herts Speakers!

For the prepared speeches we were treated to two speeches from Advanced level manuals given by Gwendoline Alderton and Elizabeth Hendry. Gwendoline did a speech project from the Persuasive Speaking manual entitled Conquering the Cold Call to sell high value items and we were given some top tips from her Interior Design expertise. We learned about the AIDA concept - Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

Elizabeth performed a speech project from the Storytelling manual and told us a true story of a time when a drunk intruder got into her flat and she had to call the Police to get him out.  There was a nice twist to the end of the story with not one but TWOsilver linings.

An impromptu speech was given by Colin Donald with a speech entitled 'Nothing about Nothing'.  Colin told us how he one day declared to his wife that he knew nothing about nothing and as a result took it upon himself to learn about Architecture which led him to learn about History from which he learned about Art thanks inspired by Ernst Gombrich's book The Story of Art. He went from knowing nothing about nothing to knowing something about something!

We continued our growth of the club by welcoming two more new members - Jenny Bullen and Shola Ayeni .  Welcome to both of them and we look forward to seeing them in speaking roles very soon!

Jenny Bullen



Shola Ayeni

Best Table Topics Speaker:

• Corrinne Frydman
• Stuart Beattie

• Steve Preece

Best Evaluator:

• Stuart Beattie



Best Speaker:

• Colin Donald

All in all a great, fun and enjoyable night!

Oh What A (Competition) Night!




Trevor Springall & Karen Nightingale

 

West Herts Speakers Club celebrated a great competition night with three superb prepared speeches and four fantastic impromptu table topics speakers. Competition was fierce, judging was tough and the best people won. Trevor Springall, who was also the Toastmaster of the Evening, came top with his hugely entertaining A Land of Paradise speech, which centered on his airport experiences that we could all relate to. Andrew Ross gave a truly adept table topic on the subject of C’Est La Vie, virtually outdoing Trevor on entertainment value as he recounted his own experiences at airports with his identical twins in tow.




Andrew Ross & Karen Nightingale

 


Stuart Lawson & Karen Nightingale

 

As if that wasn’t enough, we were also delighted to welcome another TWO NEW MEMBERS!! - Ryan Pearson and Christina Lorefice - to our fast expanding Club following hot on the heels of Sanjit Joseph who joined recently.  Sanjit also participated in both the Humorous Speech AND the Table Topics contests!




Ryan Pearson

 


Sanjit Joseph

 


Christina Lorefice

 

The evening was rounded off by Contest Chair Karen Nightingale inviting all the evening’s contestants, and club members, to share their experiences of being a Toastmaster. Former president Liz Burnett summed it up by saying how empowering and confidence building she had found being a Toastmaster since joining four years ago. Most importantly, and probably on behalf of everyone in the room, she also said how much she enjoyed witnessing and supporting people develop in their ‘Toastmaster journey’.





Contest Participants (From left to right): Stuart Lawson, Karen Knightingale, Elzabeth Hendry, Trevor Springall, Andrew Ross, Frances Pardell, Sanjit Joseph

  

If you were at the competition leave your comments below on how it was for you and also feel free to share your experiences of being a Toastmaster.

Fancy a laugh?

On Wednesday 28th September we will be holding our Humorous Speech and Table Topics competition which is always a laugh.  So come along and be entertained by the speakers and watch how competitions are done in Toastmasters.  The winners of the evening will then go on to the next stage of the competition to represent the club at the Area Contest and who knows they could make it all the way to the World Championship Finals to be held in the USA!

If you fancy yourself as a bit of a comedian and want to take part it's not too late to enter as a contestant.  Or maybe you want to help out in another way by being a Judge or Counter which is also a great experience.

Come along and feel free to bring guests along with you for a great evening of entertainment and fun!

Toastmasters International - Where Leaders Are Made

At the International Convention in Las Vegas this year Toastmasters International unveiled it's first brand refresh in 70 years.  However, this wasn't just to update and modernise the logo and other materials but it also represented a focus on the organisation being as much about the development of Leadership Skills as it is about developing Public Speaking Skills.  This is an important point and the existence of the Leadership Track which starts with the Competent Leader programme is a welcome bonus to people who expect Toastmasters clubs to be just about public speaking.

 The new brand has updated the organization's logo, colors, fonts, imagery and messaging to make Toastmasters’ identity clearer, increase awareness of its impact around the world and focus more on leadership.  During research conducted by Toastmasters International they saw clearly that people were telling them that as members gained competence in their communication abilities this gave them the confidence to lead others as result.  The brand refresh tries to capture this and reflect the link between the two and although many people may initially join Toastmasters to develop their public speaking skills they will essentially be developing confidence to do things they never imagined through the advancement of their confidence and leadership abilities.

If you'd like to see recorded interviews from Pat Johnson, International President and other Toastmasters International executives please click here.

Read more about the Toastmasters Brand Refresh.

What do you think of the new branding?  Leave your comments below.

New members Anthony and Sheila Jump Into West Herts Speakers Club At The Deep End

On Wednesday 27th July West Herts Speakers Club welcomed new members Sheila Richardson  and Anthony Nixon. This was to be their first meeting as WHSC members and both had volunteered to take on roles, Sheila as the Ah-erm counter and Anthony  as the Grammarian. His chosen word was Ubiquitous and it could almost describe new members on the night, as an incredible three of the five guests signed up on the spot.

Andrew Ross, who was Table Topics Master, selected both Sheila and Anthony for Table Topics and they mastered the challenge brilliantly. So well in fact, that Sheila won her first award, as Best Table Topics Speaker of the night. She was both stunned and delighted.  Trevor Springall won Best Evaluator.

This was the first meeting with the club’s new officers and it was,  as always with Toastmasters, quite a steep learning curve, with roles filled and switched at the last minute, late arrivals and endeavours to make the evening run smoothly.

It’s very exciting to have five new members  and we look forward to their Icebreakers, their inevitable contribution to WHSC and the privilege of supporting their Toastmasters journey.